Meera, a history student, is studying the first weeks of the uprising of 1857 for a class project. Her notes show that in May and June 1857 the revolt spread from town to town, and that it followed much the same course in many different places. She has collected three kinds of material: a remark by a British officer on what happened to Company rule in those two months, accounts of how news of the rising reached distant army posts, and a Delhi Urdu Akhbar account of 14 June 1857 on daily life in the city. She now has to judge what each source tells her.
Which of the following was a way in which word of the revolt passed between army stations?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Sepoys or their emissaries moved from one station to another.
Option (1) The Delhi Urdu Akhbar printed instructions for sepoys in the cantonments. — Incorrect. The Delhi Urdu Akhbar reported daily life in Delhi, such as empty bazaars and the water shortage. Word between cantonments went through the sepoys.
Option (2) Rebels used the Company's telegraph lines to send coded messages. — Incorrect. The telegraph was a Company line run by British officials. The sepoys carried word in person.
Option (3) Sepoys or their emissaries moved from one station to another. — Correct. Sepoys or their emissaries, that is their messengers, moved from one station to another. In this way people planned and talked about the rebellion.
Option (4) Rajas and nawabs sent their own horsemen to carry orders to each station. — Incorrect. Rajas and nawabs led the revolt in their own areas. The links between cantonments came from the sepoys themselves.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.2 Lines of communication |